Natsu no Kokoro (Heart of Summer)
by I'll Break Your Heart
Summary: She met him in the summer. He met her in the summer. They changed each other lives. They fell in love. If only...if only he could hold her. But if he ever touched her, he would vanish. Happy Birthday Amulet Misty.


**_Happy Birthday Amulet Misty! _**

**_This writer has been my greatest inspiration in TWEWY fanfics. I read her stories before I even had a fanfiction account and I'm so honored that she respects me as a fellow writer. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_**

**This fanfic is actually based off a manga I can't seem to find anymore. It was a sad, romantic story and it actually made me cry. Literally, I was crying. **

**I know it's dumb to draw inspiration from a manga, but I really felt like Neku and Shiki could fit into this story. So that's why…**

Shiki wiped a tear from her eye. She looked around at the expansive forest around her. Trees filled with leaves nearly covered out the sun, but the heat was still there. The boiling, humid, summer heat was still there.

"Hello?" she cried again. "Hello?"

She was greeted by the noises of cicadas. That's when she really did burst into tears.

Alone. Lost. Nothing but a burning sun roasting her alive and cicadas screaming into the air. She sniffed, wiping away tears.

"Mom! Dad!" she cried in vain. No answer.

Shiki collapsed onto the ground, not caring that the dirt would smudge her white skirt. She continued crying, mumbling in coherent words.

"Why…. everyone…. alone…help…"

"Aren't you a little too old to cry?" a voice asked behind her. She whipped her head around. She did a double take.

Though the sound of someone's voice made her feel unexplained joy, the appearance of her rescuer was…. peculiar. A boy, no older than herself probably, with bright orange, wearing yukata with fox mask covering his face was standing a little way off. Shiki stared in wonder at this person. A yukata? And what was with that mask?

Still, at least someone found her. Shakily she stood, her eyes still on the boy.

The boy shifted uncomfortably, tugging on one of his orange spikes, before speaking again.

"How long are you going to stare at me?" he asked. Shiki blinked and almost immediately began speaking.

"Thank goodness you found me!" she said, relief in her voice. "I got lost and, and I didn't know where I was going and I've been calling out for-"

"At least an hour, I know." The boy finished. Shiki blinked again.

"You knew I was here?" she asked. The boy grunted in response.

"Why didn't you say anything then?" she demanded. "I was so scared I was alone and-"

"You were so close to the exit I didn't want to come out." The boy said, cutting her off again. "But the spirits were saying they were going to eat you so I had to."

"But couldn't you have-" Shiki cut herself off. Her mind registered what the boy just said.

"Spirits?" she asked, incredulous. The boy nodded.

"They were all for eating you so I thought I should step in before they do." Shiki couldn't tell from his expression, but the tone seemed to say that the boy had reluctantly decided to "step in."

"Oh." Was all she could say. Now she was really staring at the masked boy.

The boy turned and began walking away. After a while, he stopped.

"Aren't you coming too?" he asked. "If you don't then it's not my problem what happens to you."

Shiki broke out of her trance and quickly scrambled to catch up to the boy. The boy never stopped and simply led Shiki to the entrance of the forest. A gate had been put up to separate it from the small town that lived near it. Shiki breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the gate. From there, she could find her way back to the town. She stepped in front of the boy and smiled.

"Thank you." She said.

"No problem."

That was the first time Shiki met Neku, that hot summer day.

XXXXXXXXX

"You're back."

Shiki nodded. She smiled up at the boy. He was still wearing the same yukata and the same fox mask on his face. The mask was white, but had intricate brush marks of orange and red.

"Yeah I'm back." Shiki said, the smile still on her face. "I wanted to thank you for rescuing me yesterday."

"It was hardly rescuing."

Shiki shook her head. "It was rescuing. You said it yourself didn't you? That those spirits would've eaten me. So thank you."

There was a silence between the two. Finally the boy scoffed.

"Whatever stalker." He mumbled before turning around.

"Hey!" Shiki yelled indignantly. The boy began to walk away but then stopped and turned.

"You coming?" he asked.

The annoyance Shiki felt was replaced by surprise. "But you said that those spirits…."

"They won't eat you if you're with me."

Shiki hesitated, and then pushed open the gate that separated the forest with the real world.

The two walked back into the forest. This time, Shiki carefully followed the boy, not wanting to repeat her mistake of getting lost. They walked in silence. Heavy silence. It was so silent that the tension could be heard in the air.

"Sooo," Shiki began, wanting to break the awkward silence. "What's your name?"

The boy suddenly stopped walking. Turning his head a little, he mumbled something.

"Sorry?" Shiki asked. The boy repeated but the sound was muffled. Shiki sighed.

"I can't hear you with that mask on, here-" She reached up to take it off. The boy pulled away.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled. Shiki blinked.

The boy readjusted his yukata and looked back at Shiki. She was staring, her hands outstretched, hovering at the place the boy had been a second ago.

"You didn't need to yell." Shiki said lowering her hands. A genuine look of hurt passed her face

"Sorry." The boy said, looking down.

"I mean, if you really want to keep that mask on then-"

"No, it's not that." The boy said, still facing the ground. "I just…just can't touch a human."

A confused crossed Shiki's face. "Why not?"

"Because I'll disappear."

XXXXXXXXX

A pact. That's what Neku had said it was. A pact with the spirits. His soul would stay alive, in the forest, for as long as it could. Forever even. He would never die and he would never age so long as he didn't touch a human.

"What happens if you do?" Shiki asked. "Where do you go?"

The boy shrugged. "Probably back to my body, wherever it is."

Shiki stared at the boy. "You don't look like a soul. You look human."

"Well stalker I'm not."

"Stop calling me stalker! I have a name."

"And what is that name?"

Shiki stopped. "I never told you my name?"

"No, no you didn't."

Shiki couldn't help but laugh a little. "How funny! We're friends but we don't even know each others names!"

"We're…we're friends?" the boy asked hesitantly. Shiki grinned.

"Of course we are! Friends help each other don't they? And you certainly helped me so we're friends."

There was a pause before the boy continued.

"Can we really be friends that easily?" He asked.

"Of course we can." Shiki answered with conviction, her smile never faltering. She stood up.

"Shiki Misaki, please treat me well."

The boy looked up at her. Shiki crossed her arms.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"Didn't I tell you my name?"

"I couldn't hear it because of that mask."

"Oh."

Shiki waited, but the boy didn't answer. Sighing she turned away.

"It's Neku."

The boy's voice was clearer now. She turned back around.

Neku had taken the mask off his face. Shiki couldn't help but stare more.

He had blue eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shiki spent her summer days with Neku. Meeting him by the gate, walking with him through the forest, eating ice cream with him, and sharing stories. Well, it was mostly her telling him stories and him just listening. Neku didn't remember much of when he had a body nor did he remember when he first started existing in the forest. It could've been a thousand years ago for all he knew. Still, there conversations, though somewhat pointless, were…happy. She told him about her dreams of designing clothes, about her sewing projects, and about her life.

The days fell in pattern for Shiki and yet, she could recall all of them. The time they visited the pond in the forest, the time she had discovered his favorite ice cream, the time where she tried to scare him but ended up being scared herself. All the times together lined up.

"How old do you think you are Neku?" she asked one day. They were sitting under the canopy of trees in the forest and the day was cooler than the rest of the days of summer.

Neku shrugged, something that Shiki noticed he did a lot, and answered, "I don't know. How old do I look?"

Shiki peered at Neku's face. It was hard to tell, but maybe…

"Fifteen." She said. "I think you're fifteen."

"Oh. Why that age?"

"Well," Shiki took off her glasses and played with them a little. "That's how old I am."

XXXXXXXXXX

The spirits sometimes came out and spoke to them. Shiki, although she wasn't a little girl, was terrified of the spirits. They looked like animals but with graffiti on them. Wolves tattooed with blue markings, bears as tall as small trees, foxes with cloudy tails, minks that flew in the air and frogs with bright colors came out and spoke to them. Or at least to Neku.

"Be careful." They whispered. "This girl is human. You touch her you vanish."

"I understand the consequences." Neku had calmly answered. The spirits seemed to hiss.

"Let us eat her. Come back to safety child."

"I am perfectly fine with this girl spirits." Neku seemed to retort.

Shiki felt a cold rush of air as what she guessed was a spirit came behind her and breathed into her ear.

"Do not be the reason why this child vanishes." They said before vanishing themselves.

Shiki nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Be careful there stalker!" Neku called. He watched as the bespectacled girl tried to climb the tree.

"Stop calling me that! And I am being careful!"

She continued to climb, placing her feet on a secure branch and gradually pulling herself up. Neku continued to watch from below.

"I just mean, I don't want you crashing back down. You know I can't touch you." He called.

"I know!" Shiki answered back. She grabbed the next tree branch and pulled herself up.

Or she would've if the branch she grabbed onto didn't slip between her sweaty palms. The next thing she knew she falling.

"SHIKI!" Neku's voice rang out. Shiki saw him run towards her, his hands outstretched.

"No don't!" she yelled. Neku stopped, and in that time Shiki crashed onto the ground.

"Shiki!" He cried, running towards. He bent down. "Are you okay?" Worry was on his face.

"F-fine." She said. She had landed on a pile of leaves and besides a small cut on her arm, she was fine. Neku breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's…good." He said, standing up. Shiki looked at him and, a small smiled came across her face.

"Neku, that's the first time you said my name."

He tugged on one of his orange spikes. "It is?"

Shiki nodded.

"Neku," she said. "Please, don't ever touch me."

A confused look passed his face.

Shiki continued. "I don't want to ever lose you so please, don't ever touch me. Promise?"

Neku looked at this strange, blacked haired girl, and for some reason,

Found himself making that promise.

XXXXXXXX

The days of summer were dwindling. The time Shiki had spent with Neku had made up the majority of her vacation, but now it was almost time to go back. Back to the real world.

"I don't want to go back." She said to Neku one day.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I-I don't want to leave…you." She said softly. Neku sighed.

"Shiki, you have to go back." He said. "You have a life and a dream waiting for you. I don't have any of those things."

"Yeah, but still…it doesn't feel right." Shiki said. She felt Neku's gaze on her.

"When are you going back?" He asked.

"In seven days."

"Then let's…. let's make those days count."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Those seven days, they tried to do everything, they tried to talk more and they tried to explore more. They visited the lake and they stayed out late to watch the stars. But with each day, Shiki's vacation was ending. Soon, it was the seventh day."

"Last day."

"Yeah."

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"…."

"Bright and early."

"…."

"Neku? You've been awfully quiet."

"Do you think that you can…can sneak out late to night?"

"Huh?"

"The spirits of this forest…they're having a summer festival. One night only. Do you think…. we can go together tonight?"

"…"

"I mean if you're to busy Shiki we can just-"

"I'd love to go Neku."

XXXXXXXXXX

The festival was unlike Shiki had ever seen. There were the normal festival stands of games and shaved ice, but the spirits' festival seemed to hold even more. What looked to be humans and monsters walked arm in arm together. Children ran with masks on their faces.

"Wow." Was all Shiki could say.

"Amazing isn't it?" Neku said.

They walked together. Close enough so Shiki wouldn't be separated, but far enough so no physical contact could be had.

"Is there anything you want to do?" Neku asked. Shiki shook her head.

"I just want to walk around, is that okay?"

"Of course it is."

The walked through the festival, playing a game here and there.

"I never knew there were so many spirit children." Shiki said as she watched a crowd of children around the goldfish-scooping booth.

"The spirits feel young at heart so they like to take the appearance of children." Neku said. "Though I heard from some that sometimes a human child manages to slip in here and join the festivities."

"I wouldn't blame them." Shiki said as she watched cotton candy as large as sheep being devoured by small tykes.

Neku looked up at the sky. "It's almost time." He whispered.

"Huh?"

"You'll see." He shot Shiki a smile that made her heart skip a beat. "C'mon."

Leading her away from the noise, Neku and Shiki walked a little while away.

"Sit." Neku commanded. Shiki sat. Silence filled the air. The coolness of the last summer night caused Shiki shiver a little.

Suddenly, the sky exploded. Brightly colored lights lit up the night sky, dancing and leaping across the blackness.

"Wow." Shiki said. "Wow."

They watched the fireworks light up the sky. Watched as the fireworks seemed to dance in the sky and fill it with colors.

"Will you come back next year?"

Shiki moved her gaze from the sky to Neku. The wolf mask was draped on the side of his head, where it had always been since that day he removed it from his face. She smiled.

"Of course I will Neku." She said.

Neku returned the smile. Slipping the wolf mask off his head, he carefully placed it on Shiki's and gave the mask's cheek a kiss.

"Let's go back." He said, rising to his feet.

Shiki lifted the mask off her blushing face. She nodded.

"Okay."

They began to walk, the night almost silent except for the noises of the ongoing festivities.

"Neku."

"Hm?"

"Thanks…for everything."

"I-I should be the one thanking you, Shiki."

A small child with wolf ears ran towards them. As he passed by Neku, he tripped, almost falling.

"Careful there." Neku said, catching him before the boy landed on his face. The boy smiled.

"Thanks Nii-chan!" He said before running again. Shiki watched him go.

"Aw, what a sweet kid! I mean spirit, right? I mean with the ears-"

She turned back to face Neku. She blinked.

Light. He was surrounded by light. The hand that had touched the child was disappeared and his whole body was shimmering. Shiki gasped.

"Don't tell me that was a human-" Two arms embracing her cut her off.

"N-Neku?" She said.

"I'm sorry Shiki, for breaking our promise but finally," he said, trying to hug her tighter as he felt his body vanish. "I can finally touch you."

Shiki hugged him back, hugged him tight. She tried to keep him there. But too quickly, his body disappeared. Too quickly the light began to escape his body. Too quickly the only thing left of Neku was the wolf mask on her head. She then cried.

On her last day of summer, Neku had disappeared.

XXXXXXXXX

"Thank you Shiki." The spirits around her whispered as Shiki walked back to the gate. The wolf mask was clutched in her hand.

"Neku's one wish was to touch you and to hold you. You have let him pass on happy."

Shiki chocked down a sob. Gone, Neku was gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, did anything exciting happen to you over break Shiki?" Eri asked.

The two girls were sitting in their homeroom, catching up as they waited for the teacher to start class. Shiki shrugged her shoulders.

"I went to the country side."

"Wow. No offense but that sound boring."

Shiki shook her head. "No, it was actually probably the best summer I ever had."

Eri whistled. "Strong statement. Maybe I should go visit the countryside. Then again, summer here in Shibuya was pretty good."

Shiki smiled as Eri went on to explain her summer. Eri wouldn't understand what happened to her that summer. But then again, no one really would.

"Okay class settled down."

The chatter began to silence as the teacher clapped her hands together.

"We have a new student who will be joining us for the rest of the year. He was hospitalized until a short while ago but made an astounding recovery. You can come in now."

The boy walked in. His hair was bright orange, his eyes were blue.

"Introduce yourself to class."

The boy looked up and his eyes met Shiki's.

"Neku. Neku Sakuraba."

**The actual manga made the main boy disappear forever. I considered doing this, but I like Neku too much to make him vanish. Anyway I hope some of you found this okay.**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY DI!**

**~Heart**


End file.
